06/17/2025
🛠 Common Website Mistake #1:
Making a Bad First Impression👎
It only takes someone 50 milliseconds to form an opinion about your website AND your company. That’s 1/20th of a second — faster than the blink of an eye (which takes ~260 ms). And while you might think it's your content that keeps people there, 94% of first impressions are based on your site’s design, not its content. 👀
Design isn't just about aesthetics — it’s about building and maintaining trust. Half of all internet users say a website's design is a **major factor in whether they trust a business**.
🔑 You have 1/20th of a second to convince someone to trust your business.
🌟Focus “Above the Fold”🌟
Visitors spend 57% of their time on the top half of your homepage — the part they see without scrolling. This area is prime real estate for building trust, answering questions, and driving action.
Design directly impacts how long someone stays on your site — and longer visits usually mean more conversions. Across industries, the average conversion rate is about 6.6%.
So, if you’re going to make improvements, start at the top.
🔑 Focus your efforts where they count most — above the fold.
The Impact of a Redesign
Design-centric websites have been shown to boost revenue by as much as 32%. 🤯🤯
In other words:
Say you’re a small B2C professional service business getting 1,000 website visitors a month.
If your conversion rate is 3% and each client account is worth $500, you’re generating $15,000/month from your site.
A homepage redesign could increase your conversion rate by 30%, bumping it to 3.9%. That’s $19,500/month, a 30% increase in revenue *without* an increase in traffic.
“If you think good design is expensive, you should look at the cost of bad design.”
— Dr. Ralf Speth, Jaguar CEO
🔑 Even small improvements can lead to big income gains.
🚀 Goals of a Homepage Redesign 🚀
Redesigns don’t have to be flashy. In truth, simplicity and clarity win every time. A cluttered, confusing homepage with no clear structure or call to action (CTA) is one of the fastest ways to lose traffic — and trust.
Here’s what to focus on:
✅ Keep navigation simple and predictable
✅ Display contact info and security badges clearly
✅ Organize content visually — this helps keep it user-friendly
✅ Include clear, concise CTAs
🔑 A good homepage isn’t just pretty — it’s easy to use and made to convert traffic into clients.
What’s Next?
Want more examples of and solutions to common website mistakes?
Every week, I’ll be posting tips on the most common mistakes people make with their websites — and ways to fix them.
👉 Follow along to learn how to turn your site into something that works for you — so you can stop stressing and finally get some sleep. 💤
Got a question about your site? Drop it below — maybe I’ll feature it in an upcoming post.
I help small businesses fix a variety of things that aren't working for them — from website work to branding. If your look needs a second set of eyes👀, I’d love to help. Follow me at Stellar Blue for weekly tips and tricks.
Sources: CXL, Sillence, et al., Semrush, Saleslion, Unbounce, McKinsey Digital
